Learning To Fly
by digitalmagik
Summary: Dahlia Dreyar wanted something more than being her fathers trophy. After a mission gone bad, she summons enough courage to run away. Going to Magnolia, it was only meant to be a safe-haven but it becomes so much more when she joins Fairy Tail. However when her past catches up to her, will Dahlia stay or will paranoia take over? When she's just finding her way? Gajeel/OC
1. Chapter 1

_Dahlia Dreyar felt like she was drowning. _

It was like she was under water and couldn't get to the surface. Like she couldn't breathe. She was tired. Tired of living for someone else. Tired of being a puppet. She had to get out. Wanted to be her own person and not someone she was not.

That was what made her decision to runaway. So without telling anyone she packed her bags and went to a place she knew that her past wouldn't follow her.

_Magnolia. _

Magnolia, Fiore was a place typically forbidden for the Raven Tail guild because of the guild that resided here. Dahlia knew this was the safest place for her to be, though she wouldn't put it past her father to send someone after her – or to at least send someone out to spy on her to know her where a bouts. She knew that Fairy Tail would unknowingly protect her, even though they had no idea what they were doing. Though knowing Fairy Tail they would probably jump at the chance of protecting her if they knew exactly who she was.

She had no intentions of actually doing that though.

"Arriving at Magnolia station." The announcement buzzed over the intercom, making Dahlia breathe in deeply. Her first step of finally becoming free. Reaching up to grab her duffel bag – she only had a few stuff that she owned – nodding towards the male that held open the door and stepping off the train. It felt too surreal to be in this town.

Thankfully she was prepared as she made her way down a street named Strawberry Street. She had done some apartment searching before arriving and had called the landlord by lacrima. She had her rent for the first month ready and the elderly lady seemed all to eager to accept her as a tenant. Probably just for the money, but this also gave Dahlia a place to live so it helped both parties. Besides, the apartment was reasonably priced – and the cheapest place she could find in Magnolia for 70,000 jewel. Easily affordable.

After getting settled in was the hard part though. Joining Fairy Tail.

Dahlia didn't know how that would go, but she would figure it out when it got there. Fingering her jewel pouch, she stood in front of her shiny new apartment. Well, new to her anyways. It was a cute looking place, and she sincerely hoped that her neighbors weren't too loud. Not that she would probably be there often anyway.

"Ah, are you Dahlia Davon?" Dahlia turned when she heard a new voice, spotting a short and plump elderly women standing before her.

Dahlia gave the women a grimacing smile. She was smart enough not to use her fathers last name. Heaven for-bid she be known as Dahlia Dreyar around here. Especially when her grandfather and half-brother were well-known wizards. As well as they probably live around here. No need to get herself into a pickle just yet. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide her identity for long, but she hoped it would be a while before they figured her out.

Not that they should. No, she has a completely different magic and is the only female Dreyar in the entire family.

"Yes, that is me. I take it you are looking for this?" Dahlia asked sweetly as she could while holding out the bag of jewel to the older women.

The other women's face glowed as she gingerly took the bag of jewel from her new tenant. She clicked the inside of her mouth obnoxiously, causing Dahlia to cringe. "Are you staying for long?" The women asked, pocketing the jewel.

"For at least a year," Dahlia replied smoothly with a nod of her head. Though she wasn't about to sign a contract, she would stick to paying month-to-month. It wasn't a guarantee that she would be staying here for that duration of time, so it was just safer that way.

Again the women clicked her tongue in response, nodding her head in confirmation. "I expect rent every first of the month. Full. I give you three days before it's late," digging through her pockets the women brought out a bronze key, handing it over to Dahlia who took it gingerly. "Welcome to Magnolia." And with that her new landlord promptly turned her heel and walked away, leaving the new owner of the apartment alone.

Dahlia watched as the older women walked away in stunned silence for a minute or so before shaking her head. No need to worry about the weird women. Tightening her grip on her duffel bag, she turned to look at the apartment. _Her apartment._ Just thinking that made her want to grin wide but she held it in, trudging into the building. Once she was in front of her door, she brought her key up and took a deep breath before opening the door to her new life.

* * *

_**AN: Heyo guys, welcome to this little project of mine! I hope you guys enjoy reading this, as this has been a long time coming. I have changed this plot-line so much, but I think I have it to where I want to write it. :) **_

_**While this is a fanfiction, I do plan on using the base plot for an original. The only reason why this is a fanfiction is because I didn't know what to replace the guilds with. With that being said though, I DO NOT own Fairy Tail. I only own this plot, Dahlia, and anything else that is not associated with the series. **_

_**P.S. I am also posting this on Wattpad under the username midnightlyra but I am not posting it anywhere else. **_

_**Fun fact, the landlady (if you guys guessed where she moved to) doesn't have a name. Hiro Mashima NEVER named her lmao. I looked it up to see if she had one, because I was going to have her introduce herself but no. She's just "The Landlady". Which is understandable, she only shows up a handful of times and makes Lucy's life miserable but still. I might give her a name but I doubt she'll become relevant. **_


	2. Chapter 2

After three days, Dahlia's apartment was finally decorated and where she wanted it to be.

Collapsing into one of her new chairs, she wiped the back of her hand against her brow. It was exhausting decorating and gathering furniture by herself. However, as she glanced around her new home, she was satisfied. _It was totally worth it,_ she thought with a small smile gracing her lips. This was her home. Her own home that she picked out, in a town she wanted to move to regardless of the implications.

While it was starting to feel more homey here, she wanted to add more of her own personal touch – though that meant she also needed to get some work. She had quite a bit saved from her work at Raven Tail, but most of that went to the guilds funding. Not that she knew what her father needed the funds for, and she didn't want to. She had a feeling it wasn't for anything good.

Her ears pricked when there was a knock on her door. Warily, she sat up straight. She knew she shouldn't be getting any visitors, so who the hell was knocking on her door?

Slowly standing up, she made her way toward the door. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her eyes to the peep hole to see two girls standing at her door; a blonde and a blue-haired little girl, both looking anxious. Raising an eyebrow, Dahlia opened the door to reveal them.

The blonde beamed, her brown eyes bright and welcoming. "Hello! I'm Lucy Heartfilia, I live next door to you and thought I'd welcome you into the building so..." She held out a gift basket, making the Dreyar girl blink in surprise. "Welcome! This beside me is Wendy Marvel, shes my guild mate and was visiting. I would have welcomed you when you first came in but well… we were on a job," she laughed nervously, giving a grimacing smile before muttering under her breath, "which I'll have to go on _another_ job just to pay for rent..." A smile quirked on Dahlia's face at that. The blonde didn't seem to fazed about it, seeming to be used to the predicament. "Anyway, if you need any help maneuvering through Magnolia let me know."

Dahlia gave a small smile, accepting the gift and glancing through it. It was full of goodies – cookies, some small cakes and other pastries that made her mouth water. "Thank you," she said sincerely, watching as the blonde's eyes brightened at that. "I'm Dahlia Dr-Davon-" she quickly corrected herself, wincing. The new last name would take some getting used to. "You two are apart of a guild?" She asked, glancing between the girls. Lucy looked about her age and Wendy looked just about a few years younger.

"Yes! We're apart of the guild here, actually," Lucy answered with a bright grin. It was hard not to get caught up in the blonde's bubbly nature. She had that personality that just drew you in. "Are you a wizard?" She asked casually, trying to keep up with conversation.

She tried to act indifferent about it as she placed the gift basket on her coffee table, "yeah, I'm an Earth Mage." She was actually an Earth Dragon Slayer, but she was going to keep that part of her magic to herself for now. They didn't need to know the other half of her magic that was practically forced upon her.

Wendy eyed her warily but Lucy beamed, delighted by the revelation. "Wow, really? That's awesome! Do you have a guild?"

Dahlia gave a light laugh, feigning embarrassment. "No. I was going to join Fairy Tail after I got my life all sorted out here actually," she stated truthfully with a small smile.

That made the blonde brighten immensely. "Our Master practically lets anyone in the guild, I'm sure he'd let you join right Wendy?" Wendy just hummed, nodding her head in confirmation.

It would be better knowing people in the guild before even joining. Then it wouldn't be so awkward, though it was going to be awkward regardless if she knew anyone or not.

Especially with her half-brother and grandfather being in the guild.

"Actually," Dahlia shook her head as Lucy broke her from her reverie, glancing over at the blonde who was practically beaming, "he'll probably still be there if you want to join now." Eternally, Dahlia panicked. She wasn't expecting to join this soon. Although this was also perfect timing. She needed to start working again soon and build up her financial situation. While she wouldn't be going bad anytime soon, she didn't want to be put in that position either.

Giving the blonde a tense smile, she bowed her head slightly. "Thank you! I'd appreciate it, I should go on jobs soon anyways…" Dahlia chuckled before standing up straight, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

Lucy laughed at that. "Don't worry, I get it. I feel like I always go on jobs because of how reckless my team is," she gave a wistful sigh as Wendy laughed, giving the blondes arm a pat. "Anyway, let me know when you're ready and I can take you to the guild."

"I can go now," Dahlia stated, not wanting to give herself time to hesitate. She needed to do this – needed the work. She had enough money stowed away for another month worth of rent, and to have extra food for the next month as well but she wanted to stay ahead.

No matter how scary joining Fairy Tail felt to her right now.

So with that Dahlia followed Lucy and Wendy towards the guild, making idle small talk along the way. She learned that Lucy was a Celestial Spirit mage, which made her impressed. They were rare, only having a few that can actually possess such magic to begin with. She also had most of the Gold keys, which made her even more impressed.

Little Wendy was a Wind Dragon Slayer, which made Dahlia a little wary of the girl but she was certainly no threat. While Dahlia could feel power from her at such a young age, it seemed that her strongest point was healing. Though she would become a formidable opponent when she grows with her magical power.

"Here we are!" Lucy stretched her arms out wide, a bright grin on her face. Fairy Tails guild sign hung proudly above the building. Butterflies formed in the pits of Dahlia's stomach as she stared at the building, reminding herself how to breathe. _This is almost like walking straight into the lions den, _Dahlia chuckled to herself, trying to keep her nervousness at bay. Lucy turned to her, the beaming smile still plastered on her face. _Doesn't it hurt to smile so much? _Dahlia wondered, fighting the urge to just turn the opposite direction. "C'mon, they might seem intimidating at first but they're all really just big teddy bears..." she chuckled fondly, shaking her head as she pushed open the guilds doors.

Dahlia's heart pounded in her chest as she followed Lucy and Wendy inside, taking in her surroundings. As she thought, the guild was boisterous. There was a few bar fights and random shouting going on causing Lucy and Wendy to give each other a knowing look. "Lucy! Wendy! I thought you two left earlier!" A cheerful voice sounded, causing Dahlia to turn towards the voice. A platinum blonde stood before them with a beaming smile on her face.

"Yeah, we left earlier. I wanted to welcome my new neighbor into town. Speaking of which," Dahlia's heart sped up when Lucy grabbed a hold of her arm, pulling her to her side with force that she didn't know the blonde had, "this is Dahlia Davon, she wanted to join the guild. Dahlia, this is MiraJane Strauss. She's basically the Masters assistant, but she's the main barmaid here. Her food is simply the best," Lucy boasted, causing MiraJane to laugh.

"I'll go get the Master," MiraJane winked over at Dahlia before disappearing to the second floor. It was a few moments before she was back, stamp in hand and Dahlia was starring in awe. Her grandfather was hobbling down the steps, saying hello to various wizards who shouted at him before they went back to doing what they were doing. He was a tiny elderly man with graying hair that was bald in the middle and spiked out on the sides with a goatee. It felt all too surreal to see her grandfather here, one of the people she was practically forbidden to see.

"MiraJane says we have someone wanting to join the guild?" The Master rasped, a twinkle in his eyes.

Lucy bobbed her head up and down. "Yeah. This is my neighbor, Dahlia Davon." The blonde pushed the aforementioned girl in front of her – causing a slight panic, though she tried not to show it on the outside.

Her grandfather gave her an appraising look. "What's your magic, child?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at his unknown granddaughter.

Dahlia swallowed thickly, clasping her hands together to stop them from shaking. "I'm an Earth Mage, sir," again, leaving out the part that she was an Earth Dragon Slayer. She wasn't ready for people to know that yet. "I also have a little bit of healing magic, but I'm not as good as Wendy here." She chuckled nervously, Wendy blushing at the appraisal.

The Master's eyes widened at that before he schooled his features. "Healing magic, huh? That's rare." He commented, moving his hand around and giving MiraJane some type of signal. Dahlia watched as Mira beamed, getting the stamp ready.

"I use the herbs from Earth to heal minor wounds and bruises. I can stop bleeding too," really, her healing magic wasn't all that impressive. She just had to learn how to heal herself in dire situations. Raven Tail wasn't known for being hospitable.

"I see..." He hummed, obviously intrigued. "What color and where do you want the emblem?" He asked, causing Dahlia to blink in surprise.

"That's it?" Dahlia wondered, "no obstacle for me to conquer?" With Raven Tail, you had to defeat one of the stronger mages in order to get in. And even then there was a fee that went towards the guilds funds. Although, in retrospect, she did know Fairy Tail allowed most mages into the guild with open arms.

Makarov Dreyar smiled at the girl. "We welcome everyone, we give people a chance to thrive and grow. Give mages a home. And you my dear, look like you could use a home." He informed her with a small smile, causing her to blush at how he got her already. "Now… what color and where do you want it?" He repeated, giving the girl a warm smile that made her heart break.

Thinking about it for a minute Dahlia showed her left bicep. "Here, in dark purple," she instructed and Mira winked. Instantly she felt the magic through the emblem, causing a bright sensation to enter her body as she watched in awe as her emblem appeared. A bright grin appeared without Dahlia realizing it as she starred at her emblem in amazement.

Lucy beamed at her, her brown doe-eyes bright with glee. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, Dahlia!" She clapped, making the Earth Mage beam. This was something she _chose_ to do.

And she knew from hence-on-forward, she will be choosing how her fate ends up. No longer would she be a marionette. With her strings broken, she now had the power to do whatever the fuck she wanted. That was all she truly wanted, in the end.

* * *

_**AN: Okay, wow. Did not expect this to become so long. o.o So, yeah. This was fun to write. This is where things get intense as Dahlia maneuvers her way through the guild and trying to keep her known identity a secret~ **_

_**If you enjoyed this let me know in the comment section down below~ And I hope you great folks have a great day! **_


	3. Chapter 3

_Dahlia Dreyar had woken up in a panic this morning. _

Drenched in sweat, she had to calm her erratic heart with a good cup of warm milk and honey. She had to remind herself several times that she was in Magnolia. That she wasn't anywhere near Raven Tail and they wouldn't be coming after her anytime soon. As long as she was careful and her name doesn't get dropped anywhere, they wouldn't know where she is. Raven Tail didn't have a Dragon Slayer, or anyone that could sniff her out for that matter.

Although, just to be on the safe side, she probably should change her hair style. She's been wanting to do that for a while anyways, and now that she could do whatever the _fuck_ she wanted to she was excited.

She also wanted a tattoo that symbolized her magic. She knew that would cost a plenty jewel, especially since she did want to change her entire look so she'd have to take a job soon. Then find a place for both of those things. Though she had a feeling it would all be worth it in the end.

Dahlia glanced down, smiling as she traced her new emblem. Her Fairy Tail marking showed proudly and she couldn't wait to see how this new chapter for herself will unfold. She was going in blind – just how she liked things.

Making herself a small breakfast, which consisted of toast with strawberry jam and scrambled eggs she headed off towards the guild. She wanted to check and see what type of jobs Fairy Tail had to offer her. No doubt they got better jobs then Raven Tail, though Dahlia wouldn't necessarily call those _jobs_.

When she got to the guild it was unnaturally quiet. She figured the normal people that were here probably got in around noon, and she was sure some were out on jobs. Which meant she beat the rush, thank the Gods above.

There was a few people here as she scanned the guild, eyes stopping at a burly looking male with long, spiky black hair, studs lining each side of his nose, above his eyes and some on each of his arms. The emblem in black showing proudly on his shoulder wearing a long, black no-sleeved shirt and tanned khakis tucked into black combat boots. _Gajeel Redfox_, Dahlia's eyes widened when she saw him. Of _course_ he would be here. She remembered him from Raven Tail, though she knew he was just spying for her grandfather. Had overheard him talking to her grandfather on the lacrima about it. Why she forgot all about him she would never know. Although, on the plus side he _shouldn't_ remember her. After all, she was just a little girl when he had been infiltrating the guild – and with the seven years they had been missing on Tenrou Island, she had definitely changed throughout the years.

"Dahlia!" The Earth Dragon Slayer shook her head, turning her gaze towards the barmaid who beamed at her. "Didn't think we'd be seeing you so early! Would you like anything to drink or breakfast?" Mira asked casually, tilting her head to the side innocently.

Dahlia gave her a warm smile. "No, that's okay Mira. Thanks though," Mira nodded and went back behind the bar but Dahlia called out her name, "I do have a question though. Can I take a job by myself, or do I need someone to go with me?" The girl questioned, glancing over at the job board.

MiraJane glanced over at the job board before glancing back at Dahlia. "Depending on the job, you might need someone to go with. If you are wanting to go alone though I would pick an easier job, though the Master usually requires you to go with someone on the first one." Dahlia eternally groaned. She was afraid of that. She didn't _want_ to go with anyone, not that she really needed to. She was perfectly capable of taking a job on her own, thank you very much. "If you need a partner there are plenty of people that would be willing to go with you. I'm sure I can suggest a few! For instance, my brother and sister-" Mira pointed towards a male and female pair of platinum blonds who were sitting at the bar, chatting lowly with each other, "they were talking about wanting to go on a job earlier. At least I'm sure Elfman would love to go with you." That didn't sound too terrible. If Dahlia chose to go on a fighting job, the brother sister duo could probably be of great help. "There's also Gajeel Redfox, who's sitting at that table down there and his Exceed partner Pantherlily, though you'll have a better time asking my siblings..." Mira giggled, shaking her head. "If you wait a few more hours more people will be piling in and I can suggest a few more. We don't start getting busy until around eleven." She casually shrugged, giving the younger girl a bright smile. "Lucy is always needing rent money, and Team Natsu is surprisingly not on a job right now. If you ask her I'm sure she'll be willing to come with you, she gets here around eleven thirty."

Lucy wasn't a terrible idea. Plus, Dahlia was incredibly curious about her Celestial Magic. The only downside would be that she would have to tone down the dragon slaying part of her magic, which wouldn't be too much of an issue. She hardly ever used it to begin with. With that thought in mind, she nodded her head at the decision. She's already met the blonde and while she was a little too bubbly for her taste, she wasn't a bad person to hang with. Besides, Dahlia wanted more friends.

"You said Lucy gets here at eleven thirty?" Dahlia questioned and Mira bobbed her head up and down as an answer. It was ten thirty now, which meant Dahlia would have to wait an hour. "What kind of juice do you have?" With that, Dahlia followed Mira towards the bar; Mira talking her head off the entire way.

* * *

_**AN: **_

_**1.) Alright, so to have some type of knowledge of how much younger Dahlia is from Laxus (why they would have never met) and where the setting is: Dahlia was 11 or 12 when they went missing on Tenrou Island. Meaning she's 18-19 now, and Laxus is known to be 23 – would be 30 not for the time gap thing. **_

_**2.) I don't think Gajeel/Dahlia would have ever met while he was infiltrating for Makarov. He might have seen glimpses of her, but not actually remember her? Again, she was really young and now she's grown into her body. So yeah. Plus I think he stopped infiltrating for Gramps before the Tenrou Island thing even happened. Which meant she would have been **_**really ****_young and probably just learning her magic at that time. _**

_**3.) I don't think I'll be adding the GMG to this because, quite frankly, I have too much going on as is without adding the GMG and I want to make this as original as possible (since I do plan on taking the main point of this plot and turning it into an **_**actual **_**original piece I want to write.**__**) I wasn't originally gonna add the Tenrou Island thing either, but it made more since with the fanfiction – but I'll most likely take it out when I start writing the original. **__**Also, also lets just pretend that they got their standing back and they get lots of jobs coming in kk? **_

_**That's about it. I just wanted to let you guys in on some insight. And also, I know you guys know what Gajeel looks like – I just want to get better at my describing skills. So don't come at me loool. **__**I also do have a PlayList for this fanfiction and I was wondering if that would be something y'all would be interested in seeing? Just let me know. **_


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